


Across The Divide

by volpiepunch



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, idfk what au this is even, woops???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 18:10:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volpiepunch/pseuds/volpiepunch
Summary: The first time Goro see's the boy in his mirror, he is 9he say's his name is Akira





	Across The Divide

Their eyes met for the first time when Goro was nine, and so very lonely. It was another listless Tuesday afternoon, he’d just walked himself home from school to find the apartment empty again. By this point his mother found no reason to leave him a note explaining where she was. Like always, there was only a small plate with an orange and a glass of water on the coffee table. 

 

He’d set his backpack down by the door and made sure he’d locked everything up like he’d been shown over and over. The shoes were set by front left leg of the coffee table, and he took his place on the couch to begin the slow task of peeling the orange. Everything was a static kind of quiet, the only noises rising from the streets below and the hum of the neighbors tv through the wall. 

 

There was no screaming, and for that Goro couldn’t help but be thankful after his day. School was rough, it was always sort of rough. He was a smart boy, and often got zeroed out for how much he excelled in academics. It left a lot of room for the others to pick on him, to cheat off him, to use him up and then run back to their friends. Goro, didn’t really have any friends, he holed himself up in the library with the grumpy librarian and read to escape his problems.

 

The orange in his hands is a little soft, which meant it probably wasn’t going to taste all that great. He peels on despite this, knowing that if he doesn’t eat it he’s going to be hungry until his mother comes home. One of his thumb nails bites too hard into the orange’s flesh, spitting juice into his face and making him flinch. It was in his eye and it stung terribly, forcing the boy to throw the orange back down onto the plate and stumble into the bathroom.

 

He wasn’t going to cry because of a stupid orange. If he could hold back his tears while getting pushed into a puddle, he could keep this in too. Clumsy hands fiddle for the light switch, striking it only by chance. The bathroom light casts a sickly glow down on his small form, it illuminates, but leaves much to be desired. Goro steps up onto the small stool in front of the sink to get a proper look at himself. His skin felt uncomfortable and the burning in his eye was a constant discomfort. 

 

Upon gazing into the mirror, however, the face he sees looking back at him is not one he recognizes. In fact it’s not quite his face in the least bit. It nearly forces him off the tiny stool, but quick reflexes manage to save Goro from an embarrassing tumble. It takes him a second to right himself, but finally, he calms and starts to really look.

 

The boy sleepily peering into the mirror has short curly black hair, his eyes a dark grey. At first Goro simply stares, the stinging in his eye forgotten. Who was this? “Who are you?” He tries to ask, but the boy doesn’t seem to be able to hear him. In fact the boy doesn’t even seem to notice for a few moments until he finally locks gazes with Goro and his mouth falls open. The stranger points at him, confused, and his mouth moves but Goro can’t hear anything either.

 

“I can’t hear you,” he mumbles, shaking his head for emphasis only to watch the other boy begin to panic. He tries to touch the mirror, so Goro mimics him, his skin touching cold dirty glass and not the palm of another human. This was…, he didn’t know what to think, what to do. Was the boy trapped in the mirror? Goro frowns, if this was God’s way of giving him a friend, he didn’t really think that it was fair that he couldn’t talk to him.

 

The curly haired boy pulls his hand back and crosses his arms in a large angry display. It’s apparent he feels the same way. Then his eyebrows fly up and he starts to bounce, holding up one finger as if to say ‘wait one second!’ and dashes off. As soon as he leaves the frame, the image ripples and Goro sees himself reappear. He looks tired and dirty and his hair is sticking up in the front from where a bully ground his fist down on his head.

 

Oh no he didn’t need the other to see him like this, like a sad loser. Goro quickly turns the sink on, splashing his face and hair with water to try and fix himself up. Thankfully his eye doesn’t sting in the slightest bit, the sensation scared off from shock. Goro takes the small washcloth by the sink and does his best to dry himself off, worry creeping up on him when the stranger doesn’t come back for a little bit. Did he lie? Did he leave to go tell all his friends how stupid Goro looked?

 

His shoulders slump, did God send him another bully and not a friend? He waits for another moment, then two, and is sure he’s right. “You’re stupid,” he tells his reflection glumly, “he’s not coming back.” Except he does, right as Goro begins to step down off the stool, the boy comes barrelling back into the frame. His eyes are now wide and alert, and somehow his hair is even more curly and messy than it was before. He smiles at Goro and looks down for a moment, concentrating hard.

 

After a bit he lifts up a paper, and in big red crayon letters, it reads. 

 

_ MY NAME IS AKIRA _

_ I AM 8 _

_ WHO ARE YOU? _

  
  


Oh, oh he, Goro blinks at…, Akira. He went to get something so they could talk to each other. He had to do the same, it was only fair, he had to tell Akira his name too. Quickly, Goro holds up one finger now, mimicking the gesture from earlier. It gifts him a big smile from Akira and he scribbles before holding the paper back up.

 

_ OK, HURRY UP _

  
  


That makes Goro laugh, quiet and delighted, he wanted him to come back, so he would, super fast. He nearly trips off the stool again as he races out of the bathroom and to his backpack. By some luck he remembered to bring his pencil box home with him today, and he still had a whole notebook to write in. Unceremoniously he rips the bag open, dumping all its contents out onto the living room floor to dig for the items in question. Thankfully it doesn’t take long and before he knows it he’s back up on the stool, watching Akira’s worried features transform into a large gap toothed smile when they can see eachother again. 

 

In just as big letters with a blue crayon, he writes his reply and flashes it in the mirror for Akira to read.

 

**MY NAME IS GORO**

**I’M 9**

**HI AKIRA**

  
  


Akira waves vigorously, Goro matching him as they properly introduce themselves for the first time. The raven looks back down and scribbles quickly, one eyebrow raised as he lifts his page.

 

_ DID YOU ALWAYS LIVE IN MY MIRROR? _

  
  


Honestly Goro was surprised he could even spell mirror. But, no, he didn’t. At least he didn’t think so. In fact that had been the next question he was going to ask Akira. Instead he looks down at his notebook with a scrunched nose. What should he write…. Eventually he settles for-

 

**NO**

**I’VE ALWAYS HAD THIS MIRROR**

**I WOULD HAVE SEEN YOU BEFORE**

  
  


Akira appears to despair over this, it seemed he also really wanted to know how they could see each other. His next page to Goro reads,

 

_ ARE YOU A MAGIC FRIEND THEN? _

  
  


...Was he? Wasn’t Akira his magic friend? Goro finds he’s hesitant to reply, but asks his question anyway.

 

**DID YOU WANT A FRIEND?**

**I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY MAGIC FRIEND**

  
  


Owlish grey eyes blink at him and all of a sudden Goro can feel his ears begin to heat up. That was stupid, he said something stupid and now Akira was going to leave. He quickly pulls down his page and begins to scribble out the words when something moving above him catches his attention. Akira is waving his hands frantically, his owl eyes now round with worry as he seems to plead with Goro to wait. He writes so fast it’s a sloppy mess, but Goro can still make out the words when Akira practically slams the page into the glass.

 

_ I WANTED A FRIEND _

_ DID YOU WANT ONE? _

_ I WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND _

  
  


Tears burn sudden and angry behind Goro’s eyes as he reads the page over and over. Akira wanted to be his friend? Really? He nods quickly and tries very hard not to smudge his page when writing his reply.

 

**I WANT TO BE YOURS TOO**

**DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN?**

  
  


He knows it’s a harsh thing to ask, but considering how bizarre this whole situation was…. Goro wasn’t sure he could get his hopes up for nothing. The question seems to make Akira sober up, his brows pinch together in worry as he looks off to the side. To be expected he didn’t have a concrete answer, but something twinkles in his eyes and he writes down.

 

_ IT’S 5 PM HERE _

_ MEET ME HERE TOMORROW _

_ WE’LL SEE OKAY? _

  
  


That was, admittedly better than nothing. Goro looks down at the watch on his wrist, the digital numbers in Featherman’s mask reading 5:23. So their time was the same, that was really good, that meant Goro would definitely be home. He flashes a thumbs up just as he hears the telltale click of the front door open. His mom was home, and, he had thrown all his stuff all over the living room floor.

 

Akira can obviously see the panic in his face, watches the way he jerks back to the bathroom door and he writes one last quick message for Goro.

 

_ I’LL BE HERE _

_ GO _

  
  


Goro gives one last wave, and shoves his notebook down his shirt. He didn’t need his mom asking why his stuff was a mess _and_ why he had been in the bathroom with a notebook. “Goro,” she sounds tired, defeated, and his stomach gurgles anxiously as he steps into the doorway to see her. His mother stands with her back to the door, jacket hanging off of her thin frame in odd angles. Bleak green eyes look up at him and she blinks a bit, asking plainly, “why is all your stuff on the ground?” She doesn’t sound mad, but she doesn’t sound happy and it makes him squirm. He couldn’t tell her about Akira, she definitely wouldn’t be happy then.

 

“I found a bug in my backpack,” he says eventually, quiet and weak, “I was flushing it. I’m sorry I’ll clean it up right now.” She doesn’t move for a bit, simply watching him drop down to start shoveling his belonging back into his bag. It makes him uncomfortable and cold, he doesn’t think she bought it, that she might just go ahead and get mad. But eventually she sighs and leaves her shoes by the door, her low voice carrying as she walks to her bedroom, “rice for dinner.”

 

“Okay,” he calls back softly, carefully zipping his bag up and putting it back in its place by the door. Unable to return to the bathroom to see if Akira really is still there, Goro resumes his position on the couch. The half peeled orange, the little plate, and the glass of water are exactly where he left them. But while he’s hungry, it’s not too bad, because all he can think about is that he now has a friend. His name is Akira, and they’re going to see each other tomorrow and keep talking about anything and everything like friends do.

 

It makes Goro smile, even when he finally finishes peeling the orange, and it tastes awful and acrid. It was okay, it was going to be okay, maybe he could find a book to recommend to Akira. Maybe he could ask if he had any pets, or what his favorite food was. He should bring home his better crayons, the ones reserved for coloring in class. Tomorrow was going to be a very good day.

 

………

 

…………………….

 

Except Goro doesn’t see Akira the next day.

 

Goro doesn’t see Akira again until he’s 18 years old.

 

**Author's Note:**

> hi yall, I don't even know what this au is even. I had the idea while i was half asleep and on twitter, but i'd like to explore it!
> 
> also for easier reading, Italics are Akira and Bold is Goro
> 
> feel free to visit me on twitter, i mostly just draw silly akeshu au's dslkhf
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/volpiepunch)   
> 


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